Table 4 Combinations of soil variables giving the rank correlations (Ļ) between chemical properties and microbial PLFA similarity matrices estimated by the BIOENV procedure (nā€‰=ā€‰45).

From: Litter quality drives the differentiation of microbial communities in the litter horizon across an alpine treeline ecotone in the eastern Tibetan Plateau

LF layer

H layer

k

Best variable combinations (Ļ)

k

Best variable combinations (Ļ)

1

C:N (0.677)

1

Lig (0.305)

2

C:N, MC (0.711)

2

pH, Lig (0.360)

3

C:N, C:P, MC (0.730)

3

TN, pH, Lig (0.359)

4

SOC, C:N, C:P, MC (0.698)

4

TN, MC, pH, Lig (0.331)

5

SOC, C:N, C:P, MC, Lig (0.680)

5

TN, MC, pH, Cel, Lig (0.307)

6

SOC, C:N, C:P, N:P, MC, Lig (0.664)

6

TN, N:P, MC, pH, Cel, Lig (0.270)

  1. k indicates the number of soil variables. Bold type indicates the best combination overall. A total of 10 chemical variables (SOC, TN, TP, C:N, C:P, N:P, MC, pH, Lig and Cel) were included in the analysis. SOC, soil organic carbon; TN, total nitrogen; TP, total phosphorus; MC, moisture content; Cel, cellulose concentration; Lig, lignin concentration
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